Writing

You should opt-in

by Jay on November 9, 2011

Are opt-in forms on a personal blog important? Or do you just find them annoying? I have to say that I answer yes to both questions. You probably have noticed that when you visit my blog, you are greeted with this cute lime green pop-up window that implores you to sign up for my email list. It’s cute, right?

Jay…those forms are sooo irritating!

I agree that they certainly can be annoying. The great thing is that if you don’t want to see it, there is a little X in the corner that will get rid of it.

I’m really not trying to bother my readers on this site. Really mom…I’m not!

Why then?

Personally, I have tried to research this topic a little online and have asked other bloggers that have higher readership levels that I do at this point. Most think that it is a good idea.

And I agree. If you like my blog, I hope that you wouldn’t mind receiving an email so that I can interact with you that way as well. Most of the time that email will contain a link to my newest posts that I think you are sure to find interesting.

Most of the time on this blog, I write posts that I hope are informative to you all and that you might glean useful information to use on your own blogs.

It makes me extremely happy to get a notification that someone has signed up to receive my posts and messages in their inbox. I appreciate all of you.

My final thoughts…

If you have a blog and you want to build your subscriber base, give these forms a try. After all, we write so that others may enjoy what we have to say or find something useful that they may implement in their own social media world. There are many services that you can use to get started. Below are a few of the top services:

Aweber

Mail Chimp

IContact

I have personally tried these three. There are other great services for email marketing out there. I used mail chimp for a while and very much liked the easy user interface…and the monkey is cute. I ended up going with aweber though. Although it has a user interface that is a bit less friendly and there is perhaps a higher learning curve, I feel like in the long-run it will offer me the most opportunities.

So what do you think?

I’d love to hear what you think about these forms and your experiences with any of these services.

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Finding your muse

by Jay on August 10, 2011

Believe it or not, I think about blogging everyday. You’d never know that from my lack of posts as of late. I think the problem f0r me is that I have way too many things going on in my brain. Rather than sitting down and actually writing, I’m constantly googling different topics and reading about new ideas. In short, I’m constantly looking for my muse.

According to the dicionary a muse is:

the goddess or the powerregarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker, or the like.

So basically instead of sitting down writing, I scour the internet for inspiration and tell myself that I will get to that next great blog post “tomorrow.” I think it all relates back to the fact that I have lots of interests and have trouble narrowing myself down into one niche.

So what makes Jay run? Here is a short list of things that very much interest me:

Learning to become a better person, which includes professionally, as a friend, and as a son/brother/uncle/grandchild, etc.
My largest interest these days relates to animals. As you probably already know, I have two dogs and three cats. Do I live in an animal farm? Yes. Do I love vacuuming and cleaning up after them everyday? Of course not. Do I wish that I could take off and leave for Mexico for a month at a time in the summer? Everyday. But the love that my animals give me more than makes up for any headaches that they occasionally cause. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Becoming a better divorcee. I think I am slowly accomplishing this. I don’t at all miss being married. It was a mistake. I learned a lot and I have changed my outlook on many things. I’d never say that I regret being married. Life is all about learning experiences.
My job is a big motivator. After having gone through a divorce recently, emotionally I was not in a good place last year. Although my students did extremely well on their advanced testing exams, better that they have every done, I always felt like I should have been doing more. Apparently it worked out well and I shouldn’t have been so hard on myself. They truly kicked ass on those tests and many will be receiving lots of college credit for Spanish courses as they begin their freshman year. Not just testing out, but earning actual college credits that will save a nice chunk of change for mom and dad this fall. I don’t take the credit for this. It is definitely a two way street. I must teach and they must work hard to learn and progress through their language acquisition process.

My list of goals for the new academic school year are many but I want to list a few out here in public and develop a manner in which I am able to measure my progress.

Continue developing my craft so that more student not only do well in my Spanish courses, but also find that passion for the language and culture that made me fall in love with it all
Higher test scores…its inevitable. I want my students to kick ass on their exams and feel confident in their abilities.
Continue to to develop more interactive activities using various web 2.0 tools to reach students in ways and on platforms that they are familiar with and use on a regular basis.
Keep writing. I really do love to blog and to write. I get a great sense of satisfaction from finishing a post. I’ve let my blog readership die to an extent and my goal is to definetely increase this yet again.

So my question to you is a simple one. Have you discovered your muse? What is it that keeps you motivated? I’d love to hear all about it.

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Do we learn too much from social media?

by Jay on April 14, 2011

Many of us in 2011 are using at least one, if not many more, various types of social media. Be it twitter, facebook, or youtube, we seem to be learning the eccentricities of others. Perhaps eccentricities is not even the appropriate word. Maybe it is just the weirdness of our “friends.”

I posit that through the use of social media, we have come to the point where there is very little left to the imagination these days. In our twitter feed we often see the great news of others like a new work promotion, the cries for help of parents that seem not to be able to properly carry out their roll, or the mundane like seeing that someone is going to take a shower.

In too many cases we read these status updates of our online friends and think….this person has some major issues. And don’t tell me that you haven’t thought that very same thought.

Overall, I obviously believe that social media is a fantastic tool for keeping in touch with others, expressing yourself, and for networking, or I wouldn’t have my own twitter account, facebook page, or blog.

I also admit to the occasional post of something like going to take a shower now and then go have some lunch.

So my question is simple…Does social media leave anything up the imagination of those that “know us” and if not, is this a better state of affairs? I’d love to hear some of your opinions. As always, thanks for commenting!

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Admiration

by Jay on March 2, 2011

As a part-time blogger at best, I like to visit others to see how they write, and what inspires them. It has been a really long day, I am not feeling well, and still have work to do but want to leave you with three writers that I really admire:
Being Cheryl
The Naked Redhead
Redhead Writing
You should definetely check them out…FANTASTIC!

Something popped into my head…these three are all women and all redheads. I never realized I had a thing for redheads.

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Email signatures are for idiots

by Jay on January 11, 2011

Ok, maybe idiots is a bit harsh. After all, I do have some colleagues that always put an inspirational quote at the end of each their communications. It just DRIVES ME CRAZY!

There are websites galore where you can search for your perfect piece of inspiration to force the rest of us to read every time that you send out an email.

My question is this…why do you think that we are interested? Sometimes it is bad enough to have to read a boring and pointless email, but then a quote by someone that you don’t even know?

I was wondering around websites looking for something funny to use for an example of an inspirational quote. This is what I would probably use if I participated in this:

“Welcome to Hell. Here’s your copy of Windows.”

I’m a Mac guy. What can I say?

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Describe yourself using ten words that start with the letter P

by Jay on December 17, 2010

This is kind of a tough blog entry for me. Here we go…

Patient – I think I am a pretty patient person. As I get older, I try to be more so. I think it is a good quality for someone in education.

Peaceful – Most people would say that I try to avoid conflict.

Practical – I’d say I am practical when I have to be. In some ways, this would not describe me. For example, when I want something, I obsess about it until I get it.

Punctual – One of my major pet peeves is arriving to a meeting on time and having to wait for all of the people who are late to begin.

Proud – Not in an obnoxious, or arrogant way. I’m proud of others, not myself. I’m very proud of my family.

Passionate – Not in a romantic way. I am passionate about issues that are important to me, like animal welfare and helping those in need.

Personable – Sometimes I can be a little hard to get to know, but when we are friends, I open up and let you in.

Political – One of my degrees is in political science. I jokingly call myself a socialist….enough said.

Polite – Rude people drive me crazy.

Public – I blog.

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Is social networking for weirdos?

by Jay on November 23, 2010

I have had this question in my head a lot lately. I seem to try all of the new sites out there, and the not so new ones as well. I’ve got a facebook account, twitter, foursquare, yelp, geomium, loopt, and probably lots of others that I signed up for along the way.

That doesn’t include the accounts on social bookmark sites (or whatever the correct jargon is for those sites).

My question is simply this: when is enough, enough?

I enjoy twitter and its neat to see what people all over the country are doing. I follow Alyssa Milano. I have no delusions of ever meeting her, but I loved Charmed and find it interesting to see what she says about various topics.

But do I really need to know that Sally Joe is getting ready to take a shower after a big run? Maybe, I don’t know. Sometimes it seems like a lot of people that tweet are kinda neurotic, doesn’t it? I know mine are half the time.

Anyway, I guess I find Twitter more entertaining than facebook or the other sites. That might be due to the 140 word limit.

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Blogger blues: 10 ways to handle discouragement

by Jay on November 19, 2010

Joy Paley is a guest blogger for An Apple a Day and a writer on earning your nursing degree for the Guide to Health Education.

Blogging can be an extremely fun and rewarding activity, whether you’re doing it for profit, as a second job, or just for your personal gratification. After the blogging honeymoon is over, however, there are all sorts of doubts that can come into your mind, to make it more of a chore than anything else. Whether you’re facing low numbers of visitors, writer’s block, or just general burnout, blogging can start to feel like a time consuming, stressful exercise. Here are ten ways that you can handle this discouragement and push past the blogger blues.

1. Set “No Internet” Time

Especially if your blog is your personal income, it’s easy to leave your browser window open at all times, obsessing over what your next day’s topics will be. This will only worsen your rut, however, and keep your brain from any fresh insights. Set a sacred “No Internet” time and keep it holy. Go for a walk, call your friends, whatever. But don’t open that browser.

2. Look for Inspiration in Other Mediums

A great way to get new blogging topics is to explore your local library or bookshop for other sources of information. Googling search phrases may be addictive, but it will ultimately just lead you to already stale ideas. Try the nonfiction section, films, even music.

3. Get Guest Bloggers

What you might really need is just a simple vacation. Round up a list of qualified guest bloggers to take over your site for a few days. You’ll get a break, and your blog with get new content.

4. Guest Blog for Others

If you’re suffering from low numbers of visitors to your site, guest blogging is a great way to get your name and blog out there. Find other blogs in your topic area, and offer them your expertise.

5. Carry a Notebook

You’ll be surprised at how often new ideas will come to you throughout the day, if they only have a place to be recorded. Keeping your brain flowing is key to fighting writer’s block—write down every idea, even if you think it’s bad.

6. Force Yourself to Write

If you sit down and literally force yourself to write word after word, even if it begins with something banal, more often than not you’ll stumble upon an interesting idea. Instead of staring at the blank page, make yourself write 250 words, and worry later if it’s the best thing you’ve ever written.

7. Use Social Networks

While you don’t want to overuse social networks to promote your site and annoy all your friends, make sure you tap into their power. Just mentioning your site can lead new people to your site and boost your visibility.

8. Do Less Today, More Tomorrow

Rather than getting discouraged and berating yourself over one bad day (which will only make you less productive!), realize that you will do more when you’re feeling better. One off day is not the end of the world.

9. Get Personal

Blogs are great because they don’t force writers to keep their personal and professional lives separate. Instead of fighting your boredom and laziness, use it as a writing prompt; maybe it will be great, maybe only mediocre. But it will help you move past your blogging rut.

10. Introduce a Lighter Side to Your Blog

Even the most serious political blogs need a little comic relief now and then. If your blog feels difficult to write, even if it’s about something you love, consider varying your subject material to include a wider variety of topics.

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A fresh beginning

by Jay on June 4, 2010

As an educator, we all start to get a little excited this time of the year. There is a feeling in the air. Students are ready to leave and enjoy their time off for a while.

Unfortunately, too many teachers have been counting the days since Spring Break. I always find that a bit sad. Why do you not like your job that much? And even more importantly, why do you stay in it?

I have recently allowed myself to start getting excited for the summer. I feel like I need to be reinvigorated a bit. I hope to do some research into foreign language methodology research to do some things differently next year.

I also am happy that I will have more time to write. Lately, I feel like I’ve been going crazy trying to keep on top of everything, which has led to no time to write.

All that will change soon!

One question I have been pondering lately. Is the oil spill President Obama’s eventual Hurricane Katrina? I’d say not, but remember how he hammered the poor response to Katrina over and over during the campaign. I bet he wishes now that he had played a different card.

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